OPUS Mag

Mar 17 Why You Mad at Curry Bro? by @klew24

Another day, and another old head dissing the current game of basketball and one of its greatest young stars in reigning MVP Stephen Curry. Every year we go through this cycle where dudes who used to play basketball loudly proclaim shit they would’ve done or shit that this generation can’t do or what have you.

I realize that we are talking about athletes with large egos and old dudes from any walk of life tend to have a “Hey young blood, we did it better or *insert whatever here* was better back in my day.” With his quotes about Curry, Robertson just comes across as an insecure, bitter old man who’s mad about a younger guy setting records and rewriting the history book. Is it because he feels threatened? Is it just a case of the typical basketball player who thinks their era is the best era regardless of what is presented to them? I don’t know but Robertson sounded like a damn fool with his quotes.

“He’s shot well because of what’s going on in basketball today,” Robertson said. “In basketball today, it’s almost like if you can dunk or make a three-point shot, you’re the greatest thing since sliced bread.

What does this even mean? Curry shoots 63.6% on shots between 30 and 35 feet for one example. What the hell does that have to do with the “climate” of basketball today? Curry casually jogged into a 38 foot game winner against OKC. One which NOBODY thought he was going to miss. Back in the day what would’ve happened? He would’ve been DDTed? Powerbombed? What? What is STOPPING that? What’re the magical elixir fixer suggestions that are going to stop or at least mitigate Curry’s assault on the league? I’m sure there are 29 NBA coaches who would love to hear what Oscar has to say since he’s quick to discredit Curry and all. That leads me to the next piece of the quote:

“There have been some great shooters in the past. … But here again, when I played years ago, if you shot a shot outside and hit it, the next time I’m going to be up on top of you. I’m going to pressure you with three-quarters, half-court defense. But now they don’t do that. These coaches do not understand the game of basketball, as far as I’m concerned.”

"If I've got a guy who's great shooting the ball outside, don't you want to extend your defense out a little bit?" he said.

So Oscar’s brilliant advice is two-fold. Contest his shots heavily and press the man with arguably the best handle in the sport, who doesn’t even bring the ball up that often anymore. Big men have been flailing at Curry off pick and rolls to no avail and perimeter players have been in Curry’s face like an angry Jehovah’s witnesses all season and it hasn’t bothered him. What are they supposed to do? Who’s stopping this on an anywhere near consistent basis? Curry has embarrassed the vast majority of the league for the last year and a half and it doesn’t seem he’s going to slow down any time soon. Why is this automatically an indictment of the era he plays in and not just praise for him being absolutely fucking dominant and making it look like he’s playing against helpless children every night? You watch Steph Curry play and your thoughts are “Well, back in my day we would’ve done such and such. “Why can’t these bitter hating ass old heads just give their credit to Curry and others and shut the fuck up?

Anyway, the next opponent after these quotes was the Orlando Magic and I’m sure they were thrilled to find out about these quotes. Magic guard Victor Oladipo pressured Curry all over the court and he was heavily contested on the majority of his shots. None of this is some new information or genius tactics that haven’t been tried yet but apparently that’s all you have to do to slow down Curry.

Either way, what was the result of the Magic game you might ask? Curry scored 51 points on 20/27 from the field and 10/15 on 3s. He followed that up with 46 points on 14-24 from the field and 12/16 on 3s against the Oklahoma City. I guess neither of these teams or anyone else in the damn NBA has heeded Robertson’s brilliant advice. These young whippersnappers need to understand that you just have to press him, get in his face and throw the occasional WWE move and he can be corralled. Curry for the year is averaging 30.7 PPG/6.6 APG/5.3 RPG on 51.5/46.8/90.9 and having arguably the single greatest offensive season in the history of the NBA.

Are there differences from era to era with regards to NBA history? Yes. Play style, rules changes, technologic advantages and the type of information at your disposal varies from era to era. That’s kind of why it’s generally an exercise in futility comparing players from different eras but to try and diminish Curry as if somebody with his skillset and physical ability couldn’t succeed in another era is ridiculous. His skill is translatable to any kind of basketball you want to play and any era. The guy is casually coming off screens and nailing 28 footers and putting defenders, big and small, in impossible situations.

Given the type of gifts that guys have athletically these days and the advantages coaches and front offices have with regards to building teams and researching opponents the league is probably better now than it was in the 70s, 80s or 90s anyway.

Either way, older people will continue to swear their generations are better than the current one in just about every imaginable. And to be frank, in MOST cases they may be right. Looking around at people my age (29 in October) and younger and I’m frightened at some of the shit I see sometimes.

I’ll get back on track and to the main point. You’re just a bitter ass hater if you watch Steph Curry play this year and think, “Gee, the perimeter defense is so bad. That’s why he’s going off like this.” Curry doing what he’s doing isn’t going to make people forget Robertson’s place in history. That said, he, and others of his ilk, really just need to shut the fuck up and let these young boys shine without throwing water on them all the time. It doesn’t take a lot of energy to be this bitter all the damn time? Jesus Christ.

Steph, keep making them mad and keep motivating these ridiculous ass “hot takes”. One disrespectful three pointer in a helpless defender’s face after another until the entire world is mad at you.

A New York based writer who's particularly fond of slightly inappropriate jokes, listening to 'Knuck If You Buck' on loop, and bringing smiles to various faces. The Mercy College graduate is well versed in most sports and dabbles occasionally in various other areas like music and politics. His interests include Eric Decker touchdowns, anything involving Kristaps Porzingis, good jokes, great pizza and peacefully walking around NYC on Saturday nights looking for a spot to invade.

A New York based writer who's particularly fond of slightly inappropriate jokes, listening to 'Knuck If You Buck' on loop, and bringing smiles to various faces. The Mercy College graduate is well versed in most sports and dabbles occasionally in various other areas like music and politics. His interests include Eric Decker touchdowns, anything involving Kristaps Porzingis, good jokes, great pizza and peacefully walking around NYC on Saturday nights looking for a spot to invade.

Coeur Noir is an autofiction novel written by Al Patron. The title is Haitian Creole for black heart or heart of black, in reference to the traits of the main protagonist, Nikolas Daniel...who may or may not be based on Al Patron himself. A coming of age novel Coeur Noir will evoke emotional reactions ranging from but not limited to crying & laughter, all while detailing a path to greatness for Al Pa...pardon...Nikolas Daniel.